Economy in Total War: Three Kingdoms

1 Industry
2 Food and income from food
3 Trade
Each stands out in its own way
There are many factors in the game that improve the economy.
I will try to tell you about the main ones without which you will not be able to earn well
I will talk about government buildings later

1) There are many auxiliary buildings in the game that are great for developing income from Industry, trade and food. These buildings help in %
Here is an example
From food, this is a building that increases the amount of money received from selling food and a building that increases food production.
These buildings complement each other perfectly in almost any industry, so if you want to get more money or food, auxiliary buildings are a must.
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In trade it is
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Industry is
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For the building that gives the biggest bonus, you need to find a special resource that can be found near Liu Biao and Yan Baihu.
...................................... 2) There are special buildings in the regions that have special resources, such as lumber needed for the lacquer master building or grain needed for maximum level buildings for selling food and production, also to build some buildings you need to open them in research, there are many unique resources on the map that give their bonuses
...................................... 3) Population, an underrated game mechanic that greatly boosts the economy.
As I said, the more people, the more money they give, and with increasing level, bonuses are given to the city, such as increased money production or trade, but with the increase in people, there are problems with civil order, the more people, the more you get fined.
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This photo shows what penalties apply to one city of level 7 and another of level 8
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Now about how to maintain civil order and to what level to improve cities.
Buildings such as temples or garrisons are great for order
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Important points
Now about how to maintain civil order and to what level to improve cities.
Buildings such as temples or garrisons are great for order, but missions that you can give through characters, research, events and assignments in the main area also help.
Regarding cities, I advise you to improve them to level 5 and special cities such as the capital or port cities to the maximum to get the most out of your economy, and of course you can do it your way but then you will have to worry about rebellion or making an army in that city because there will not be enough buildings, level 5 is the golden mean
I also almost forgot that cities are divided into port and regular and that from port you get the most money so they should be a priority and especially if you play through trade
I also advise you to develop your territories evenly for example some areas for trade for example and others for industry from this you will get the maximum bonus

In this game, income from food is the lowest compared to other types of income.
But even here there are some features that compensate:

1. Food can be sold to other Factions and get money from it, improve relations, and invest in profitable offers, for example, a Non-Aggression Pact
2. Food is an opportunity to improve cities to a higher level, that is, increase the population (increase the income of money) because cities need food

3) When building food, you can choose a specialization either in production to have more food or in selling food to have a serious income from selling food
.............................. 4) It all depends on your game style if you want to get more food and sell it for your own benefit or improve cities then this is your option. If you want to have enough food and also get serious money from it then this is your option but here you will not have so much food because selling takes away a lot of food so I advise you to keep an eye on it so that you do not have problems with it, but despite the food subtraction I will say that it is worth it.
Therefore it all depends on your game style and faction, for example playing for LU BEI it is great to develop food and here is an example.
In the first case when selling food I get 2600 gold after deducting corruption it is 2251 with bonuses from research and corruption + I still have the governor standing here (this is crazy income)
The second case for food production
As you can see we lost over 400 gold but gained a lot of food
I showed this as an example so here is your opinion
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5. Don't forget about the auxiliary buildings, it's important!!!
   P.S.
   I won't remind you about them anymore, but remember them

Industry compared to food gives more money, but also has its disadvantages, such as long and expensive construction

1. From industry you get stability, gold and internal economy, this is great because you become less dependent on the outside world and have a stable income

2) Industry can be improved either to produce gold or to reduce corruption
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3. Here I advise you to look at the situation, at the beginning of the game I advise you to invest in industry for gold production, and in the middle of the game, look at the situation, and at the end, rebuild everything to combat corruption.
4. If you don't monitor corruption, it will eat you up, you can reduce it through reforms, administrators and successor regions, it's great to have, for example, 500 gold, but with 40% corruption you will receive 200, and now multiply 40% by each province, especially those provinces where you receive more money, and you will receive a huge penalty to the economy. Personally, I have not improved industry to production above level 3 in the entire game simply because corruption did not allow me to do this

5) Why is that?
Because over time, when you capture more territories, corruption becomes larger and eats up your economy. And it turns out that on paper you have money, but in reality half goes to people's wallets.
Here's an example: in the first photo you see my territories with such a number of territories I have 55% corruption in general
in the second photo the capital in which there is 26% corruption with bonuses from reforms, a building that reduces corruption by 10% and an administrator who reduces corruption by 30%, while I receive 2251 gold
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in the third photo you see a bonus from the successor who manages the region and reduces corruption by 50%, as you can see corruption is 0 and I receive full earnings from the capital in the amount of 3534 gold
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n the fourth photo you see when I do not have an administrator and a successor corruption is 48% and gold production has dropped significantly to 1474 gold.
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With this example I wanted to show you how important it is to reduce corruption and how it affects the economy 6) 6) When building a building that reduces corruption, you get less money, for example, at level 3 you get a 10% reduction in corruption and 200 gold, while on a building that gives money you get 100 gold more. In the future, improving a building that reduces corruption, this bonus applies to other areas. This is incredible because at level 4 the 10% bonus applies to other areas and reduces corruption there too. In addition, you get + 50 gold. So in the late game, without this building, it's like without an economy.
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Personally, in every game, in the late game, I have buildings in every region to reduce corruption, which gives me crazy bonuses.

Trade is the fastest way to make money in the game, especially at the beginning and in the middle of the game, but its disadvantage is that you need to monitor politics and relations if you want to trade for a long time

1. Trade should be counted on in the long term, but not in the main one, because over time you develop and other factions may not like it and because of this they may break off trade with you, so do not count on it at the end of the game
   In fact, it is quick money for a while with the possibility of increasing profits. At the end of the game, trade loses its meaning because in most cases you are at war, but if you are a skilled politician, then it makes sense to develop trade at the end of the game (here you need to look at the situation)

2) There are two main trade buildings in the game, one of which gives Income (Commerce) and the other Income from Commerce. The first differs in that it increases the % of profit, while the second increases the amount of money received from the city.
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3. I advise you to improve the main building with Income (Commerce) and the auxiliary building with Income from Commerce, but if you use spies and want to strengthen them, you can take a building that improves the cover of spies, but then you will get less money from trade. (Here it depends on your game)

4) Now regarding trading ports, they are divided into 3 types: the first gives a lot of food and a good bonus to trade, the second type gives less food but a bigger bonus to trade, and the third gives the maximum bonus to trade
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I advise you to improve the economy to maximum trade but as always you can do it your way.
P.S.
If you suddenly don't want to play through trade or it doesn't interest you then the ports in the cities can be improved to food
And another great bonus that you can get through a spy in the spy menu in the COURT CHARITABLE ACTIONS section is a 25% bonus from trading, here's an example
The third photo is before applying the bonus and the first one is after
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There is a penalty here because it's winter, but in reality this bonus lasts for 5 turns and can be extended for longer and gives me 300-400 gold without a penalty.

They are divided into administrative offices, configuration temples, and buildings that increase money production from food but reduce overall order.
Government buildings provide interesting bonuses such as prestige (you will get ranks faster), a bonus from the production of all resources (you will get more money), and a reduction in corruption.

1) Administrative offices
Administrative buildings can be upgraded in three different branches
The first is the Imperial Palace, it is the most unique building in the game, it can only be built once per game
It gives 30 prestige, improves the garrison in the city in which it is installed to the Imperial Troops, gives as much as 500 gold from food and as much as 50% bonus to the construction of economic buildings.
I advise you to place it either in a city where you get a lot of money from food or near the border, unfortunately the building can only be built once so be careful, usually players place it in their capital but it can be used in a different way due to its bonuses
The second building gives 30 prestige, 20% bonus to income from all resources (money production) and reduces corruption in the area
Now about the interesting mechanics (income from all resources) this is a great bonus for your economy, but I note that this bonus is better to use when you have income (economy) because this bonus strengthens you and does not give you direct money.
For example, I used these buildings to quickly reach the rank of Second Marakiz for Liu Bei in order to make a coalition with Yuan Shao, so be careful these buildings are great because they can quickly increase your rank and increase money production in the second case it is better to build these buildings in the middle of the game or closer to the middle of the game if you do not want to quickly rise in rank
(This applies to all Administrative Offices)
The third building is different in that its bonus against corruption affects other areas but you get less money here (from all resources)
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This building is great in the middle of the game or at the end because its bonus affects inner cities, it is a strong bonus which by the way is stronger than the one given by the GREAT MINT TREASURY building (for comparison)
Now imagine if such a building were built in every place imagine what bonus these buildings would give to each other and especially in Port cities and Industrial cities

2. Configuration Temples just increase order, nothing special here
3. Buildings that increase money production but decrease overall order also don't stand out much.
   I personally have never built them, they are great for quick money at the beginning because you are actually exchanging civil order for money. It is suitable for the beginning of the game, but I would not upgrade this building more than 2-3 levels, then you get strong penalties and I would use this building only at the beginning, but this is your choice)
   These buildings also work great together because the bonus on (Income from all resources) is summed in % with the money you have.

1. Administrators
   These positions can be given to characters and each type of character gives its own bonuses, here are the bonuses that the characters give:
   Sentinel
   Reduces construction costs
   Increases industry
   Reduces corruption

Vanguard
Gives military bonuses, often slightly worsening the economy for this, for example, reducing the number of people in the area that you receive per turn
Bonuses to army recruitment
Faster troop replenishment

Commander
Bonuses to the peasant economy
Increases public order
Stabilizes the region

Strategist
Best for Commerce
Increases income from resources

Champion
Bonus to food production (agriculture)
Supporting armies through food
Reducing food shortages
You can also improve characters only for the economy, for example if a character is bad as a general it does not mean that he will be bad at governing the city.
Usually, the character's economic improvements are at the bottom of the branch, sometimes the improvements can be in different places because the characters are different, but usually, as you can see in the photo, they are almost everywhere.
As an example I will take a commander with skill bonuses for the economy
This is before the bonuses started working.
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And this is after
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As you can see I got a great bonus for building, now this bonus is not felt so much, but at the beginning of the game or in the middle of the game it helps a lot.
I would especially highlight 3 characters, this is Sentinel among all the characters this gives the biggest bonus for building, Strategist because of his bonuses for trade and Commander with bonuses for money production from food, for example I use these characters most often
But that's not all, I thought until one point that Administrators were selfless but when I tried them I started to appreciate them.
But that's not all, I thought until one point that Administrators were selfless but when I tried them I started to appreciate them.
Now I'll surprise you but administrators after I gave them a position become part of the city garrison and take part in the battle when the city is attacked but that's not all, you have the opportunity to give the Administrator a garrison (his army) which he will maintain for free
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But that's not the end)
You can change the garrison of the Administrator by making it stronger, but for example, an army that cost you 600-700 gold that you mobilized is maintained by the Administrator for free
In order to change the army, the administrator needs to mobilize it, hire an army and then disband
Here is an example
The Imperial Guard, which is expensive to maintain, is maintained for free, while the same army that walks around the map costs 1440 gold, this is impossible!!!
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The only downside to replacing the army is that it is expensive, but it pays off. Imagine a regular garrison of the city, a general's army and another army that you can make through military infrastructure, so we get a fully protected city.
And it also cheers up the characters)
I advise using them near the borders as a garrison or placing them in the most profitable parts of the city to develop the economy
As a conclusion, we have crazy bonuses and besides, Administrators don't take much money for it, but it pays for itself completely

2. Now about regional managers
   Unlike administrators, the character performs tasks for a certain number of turns and then returns.
   What bonuses do they give as rulers:

Strategist
Best for rich trading provinces.
+Commerce Income
+Industry Income
+Silk Income
+Spice Income

Sentinel
Very useful in large industrial regions and against corruption
-Corruption
+Industry
+Order
-Construction Costs

Commander
Ideal for densely populated regions.
+Public Order
+Peasantry Income
+Population
+Population Satisfaction

Champion
Best for food provinces
+Food Production
+Peasantry Income
+Replenishment

Vanguard
Works well during war.
+Replenishment
+Mustering
+Military Supplies
Region Military Bonuses

Each is unique in its own way, but I will highlight Strategist, Sentinel and Commander, I use them the most.
They can be combined with Administrators, for example, to reduce corruption in the region or improve general order and get an even stronger bonus from this

3. Council of factions
   There are only 5 positions in the game that you can give to characters, here there is a double bonus, the first for the position to which you assigned the character and the second bonus you get from the character itself, that is, from his class and the actions that he can perform, and of course this improves the mood)
   Now I will tell you which character gives bonuses, and by the way there are no restrictions on the character class, so for example you can assign commanders to all positions, but it is better not to do so

Strategist
Most often offers:
Trade bonuses;
Commercial income;
New officials;
Economic decisions

Sentinel
Often offers:
City development;
Corruption reduction;
Building bonuses;
Crafting bonuses.

Champion
Often offers:
Food bonuses;
Peasant development;
Population growth.

Commander
Often offers:
Increase in order;
Administrative bonuses;
Official support.

Vanguard
Often offers:
Raids;
Military operations;
Army bonuses;
Actions against enemy characters or factions.
Here is an example
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As you can see, this action has greatly improved my economy, the same effect is on trade and income from food, but you have to be careful with this, if I received more money from trade and less from industry, I could worsen my economy, so before using this strong economic bonus, I advise you to look at what your economy is focused on.

Now I have told you about the whole basis of the economy of Total War: Three Kingdoms, I hope you liked my guide and you learned something new)
I spent 3-4 days writing this guide, I hope you will appreciate my work
By the way, if you liked the guide, I can do more, for example about espionage or how to start the game as Liu Bei